


Containment procedures

by SnaggTeeth



Category: Overwatch (Video Game), SCP Foundation
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - SCP Foundation, Drug Use, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Horror, How Do I Tag, I am so sorry, Illness, M/M, Mentions of Death, Monsters, Slow Burn, Tags May Change, mentions of animal death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-24 08:34:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13209969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnaggTeeth/pseuds/SnaggTeeth
Summary: Mako is a tired old scientist who was tasked with looking after and studying those who came into contact with logic defying entities that may or may not have drove them mad.He was quite happy with this job, until he was assigned to one entity in particular. A small wooden box that apprently talks back at you the first chance it gets.





	1. Just a box

**Author's Note:**

> I really enjoy the concept behind SCP and after struggling to write my own file out I instead decided to try a different approach to it that involved the OTP. 
> 
> Although the SCP foundation isn't going to be mentioned fully it is techically still a cross over? I am more going with the concept of spooky logic defying thing creeping on tired science man than anything.

It was just a box. A small wooden box no bigger than the average pencil case. To a regular civilian at first glance it was harmless, a little dull and slightly tacky but harmless. 

To Mako Rutledge is was evil. 

He never expected to be put in of such an item, his area of expertise not in the items themselves but rather those they affected. The criminals unwillingly signed over to become test subjects for the secretive organisation and the anomalies they seek out to hide from the rest of the world. He’d interview them, listen to them ramble or scream. Watch as they twitched and fidgeted. All he could do was listen, and if needed fill them up on a diet of pills until whatever bothered them faded away into nothing, a temporary fix that only allowed the organisation to throw them into the way of more creatures, monsters and objects to see what made them tick, and if they died? He’d get a new patient by the end of the week.

When he was assigned one of the anomalies themselves he didn’t know what to expect. Apparently the last guy in charge got a little too close to that little wooden box and as a result had to be ‘relocated’ as his colleagues put it. 

So what was he supposed to do? A quick glance over the files told him he had to make sure no one touched it but also had to make sure something was put inside it at least once a day? Sure he could do that, it was simple enough he even went out of his way to purchase extra office supplies like paper clips and pencils. If it was small, in high abundance and nor overly important it was going inside.

The first week went quickly. Everyday someone, usually one of the criminal test subjects, was sent inside with a pair of lead gloves and a pencil. They’d walk in, shove what they have into the box, and get out. No one got hurt, Mako and his colleagues were satisfied, no changes in the object or it's cell was observed. 

Until day 7. Mako quickly learnt why no one was too touch the box, not without the gloves. One of the idiot test subjects didn't listen, ignored all orders and instead picked up the box with his bare hands. It would burn, searing hot until all his flesh was nothing but mush, and even then he kept a tight grip on the thing as he tried to break out of the room, his cries filling the speakers of the PA until he finally passed out exhausted from the no doubt excruciating pain of his fingers. The idiot would survive, without his hands, and he was competent enough for Mako too interview almost a week later. He had to find out what the hell happened in there.

“So what you are telling me…” Mako glanced over his notes, a small script of the conversation he had just moments ago with the young man in front of him. “is that the item spoke too you, swore it was your wife and that it needed your help escaping?” 

The man would just stare, taking a full minute to respond only with a quick nod. It had taken hours to get even just the smallest bit of information out of the man and it didn't help that Mako was the largest man You’d ever meet. At over 7 feet many made the joke during his years at the facility that he was an anomaly himself and should be locked up like the rest. Didn't help he was impossibly wide as well, the right side of his face scarred and sore. At least he kept his silver hair tied neatly in a ponytail, otherwise he’d truly fit in with the monsters lurking within the facility walls.

Still he got the information he needed. The subject was hearing voices, his files stating the fan had no previous issued with mental health before, therefore the box wasn't just a simple wooden bit of decoration, besides the fact it could burn off your skin with just touch alone. 

Usual procedure, prescribe the subject with enough pills to keep them numb until the symptoms faded and send them on their way. Investigating the object itself would have to be done with a lot more caution in mind. 

\-------

Day 21. 7 days since the interview. Since then everything had been relatively normal. No one got hurt, the item had been ‘fed’ every day at exactly noon and the subject that had previously caused a scare seemed to have returned to normal behaviour, no twitching, no mumbling, no voices in his head pretending to be a dear old love one from lives that never occurred. Yet today would be different. Today Mako would enter the chamber himself. Not once had he seen the abomination without a screen in the way or through the grainy photo printed onto the thin file, and he had come to the conclusion  
That in order to understand the effects better he’d need to experience the strange item for himself.

With 15 minutes until noon Mako already had himself prepared with the thick lead gloves normally used to protect against the radiation of X-rays, and an item of choice to be put inside. A stapler, one he had broke a few days prior after getting frustrated when it wouldn’t puncture a stack of papers one to many layers thicker than it could handle.

As the clock ticked down he further prepared himself, his mind going over the many potential scenarios that could occur within the next few minutes. 

It could go smoothly. He could walk in, put the crappy stapler inside and leave. No voices, no burning, it would be boring and mundane, almost like the item was just a wooden box and not a logic defying entity that could very much cripple him at the slightest touch. 

It could go horribly wrong. What if he was lured in, these apparent voices flooding his mind forcing him to ignore every part of the flight or fight response and instead bend his mind and body to its will, to do his bidding. He’d touch it, his flesh would burn until nothing remained and he could not do a thing about it. 

It could drive him to madness, or kill him. Both seemed equality terrible. 

Noon. Time to go in. He pushed back the irritating thoughts and replaced them with the rational ones. Every day he’d been here bar one everything had gone according to plan, no doubt the same would happen to him. 

The chamber door opened, he stepped inside, the door closing behind him with a metallic clang. The room before him white, a window to his right, well a mirror to him. In the center was a table and on that table was that tiny wooden box, as white as the walls around it and ever so carefully placed on a block of black lead. 

It was quiet, eerily so. The only sound barely filling the room was his own breathing, slow and deep. Nothing from the box itself. 

He stepped forward, pausing every few steps to listen for anything out of the ordinary. He even held his breath for a few short seconds but nothing pressed through the silence. The closer he got the more he realised he had nothing to fear and soon he was stood in front of the little table, tiny box below him. 

He opened it, surprised to see it empty, recalling he read somewhere in the file that anything put inside would disappear by the next day, a little disappointing, You’d think some creepy inanimate object would do a little more than make things vanish into thin air. Quickly he put the useless staple in, closed the box and turned away beginning the short journey out of the chamber. Everything had gone according to plan, he wasn't hurt, he hadn't heard anything and certainly wasn't trying to escape like a mad man in an asylum. It seemed that idiot subject was a one off case more than likely sent mad after years of facing various ghouls and beasts against his own will. 

“It's broken...I don't want it if it's broken”

Mako froze, hand hovering inches from the button that would unlock the cell. Who had said that? 

“Get me something else, something not broken”

He turned, the chamber empty except for him and the box. The box that had opened once again. He swore he shut it but it was an easy mistake to make. Quickly stepping over the box would be closed again but before he could make his way back out that same voice would speak again. 

“I said I don't want it” 

High, shrill, annoying. It didn't say please. It came from nothing, it had no place to be, it hurt it's head with every syllable. Yet it was familiar, like it had always been there ringing in his ear. 

Get out. That's all he had to do. Making a beeline for the door he didn't stop when the voice shrieked, demanding he’d stop and listen just for a second. When the door slammed shut behind him it ceased, sweet silence filling the room around him once again. Back to the wall and head pounding all he could think too do was return to his quarters and sleep the whole ordeal away. But it was barely past noon, and he had a report to fill out. It was going to be a long day.


	2. Wrong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spooky is not an easy thing to write why did I think this was a good idea

His head was still ringing. 

4 days had passed, routine still the same. Get up at 5am, shower, breakfast, coffee, arrive at the cell by 6am. Check for signs of significant change then hide in his office until noon. It was the same everyday, although he had refused to go into the cell himself instead returning to the old procedure of tossing in a test subject to face whatever the anomaly would throw at them. But like almost everyone who had gone in They’d come out unharmed and happy. 

Until day 4.

At first glance everything was normal on the other side of the one way window. The box neatly placed on the table, walls as white as ever. Nothing out of place. Mako sat at the little desk just behind the glass, coffee in one hand the other jotting down the same notes he wrote every day quietly sipping at the lukewarm brew alone. He’d look up from the papers when he heard a small clang. Something hitting the floor. A quick glance around the desk and his feet confirmed it wasn't him who dropped whatever it was and there wasn't anyone else around. Eyes flicked to the glass. The box still in its usual place. With a sigh and the downing of his coffee mako stood and stepped over to the glass, peering inside.

There it was. The stapler from four days ago, broken into two neat pieces underneath the table. 

That was new. Normally you put something in and it vanishes, never to be seen again. He figured the same had happen to the stapler. Every subject that went inside was met with the same sight of an empty container, no staplers. He’d have to report this, he had too. Any and all changes no matter how insignificant had to be noted. That was the easy part, the hard part was getting it. 

Normally he’d send some poor sucker who nobody would miss but he was alone, it was barely past 7am and too wait until noon could of been a death wish knowing the things that lived within the facility. Anything could happen. 

Mako was alone, he didn't want to go in there, not again. But he was alone and technically this was his responsibility. 

He fetched the gloves, unlocking the door with the keypad beside it and stepped inside. Nothing, no noises no voices, it was a good start. Getting the stapler was easy, it didn't burn his hands like expected but it was warm to the touch even with the lead lined gloves. It was neatly broken, more so than when he had put it in a few days ago, back then it was in one piece but here it was two separate chunks top and bottom, like it had been torn. 

“I told you it was broken” 

Mako shot up, turning to catch sight of the source of the shrill voice but he saw nothing. Grip tightening on the tool he hastily left the room, door slamming shut behind him. Heart racing and head pounding with his pulse. “never again” he told himself, hastily returning to his desk, gathering his notes and getting out of the damn room. 

“Get me something else, something shiny”

It was all he heard as he stepped out, glancing back at the chamber behind him. Impossible. It all had to just be him, all in his head. Working with nut jobs in a facility of the weird and wonderful was perhaps finally starting to take its toll after all these years. If only retirement was an option. 

But you can't just up and leave with a job like this. 

\------

Noon would come. A reluctant test subject selected and an item ready to be dropped in. It was the usual office supplies, a large paper clip a little dull and bent but small enough to fit inside so it would do.   
In the poor sucker went, paperclip in hand and door locked tight. Immediately it could be seen from the other side of the glass that something was very wrong. The test subject unmoving from his position pressed firmly against the metal door, eyes locked on the box in front of him, panic filling his face as his breath increased. He’d scramble, frantically trying to get the door open, slamming his fists on the metal as he pushed with all his might. But it was useless, the door would only open from the other side and only if Mako keyed in the code himself. 

Mako had seen this kind of fear before, normally from subjects who had spent so long behind facility walls, thrown in tiny rooms with the strangest and most dangerous things this world could offer. No doubt this sucker had seen it all at this point, hell they could throw them in a room with a talking teddy bear and he’d cry. 

“Just put the paperclip into the box and you can leave” Mako reminded the subject through the PA. It seemed to have worked, the man snapping from his shocked state and darting towards the box, pulling it open and shoving the clip inside. It was over quickly, the man shaking and crying in a heaped mess on the floor outside the chamber. He refused to speak, every word coming out a jumbled mess of snot and tears. Mako couldn't get a straight answer out of him, not even an hour later in a quiet room and a warm cup of tea. 

“Just tell me if you heard or saw anything. If you didn't then fine if you did then I’ll hel-”

“I was the wrong one”

Wrong one? Was it talking to him too? He made sure to jot that down, hearing voices a common side effect to just about everything around here. An easy fix just like always. 

“Said he was only gonna talk to the big guy”

He? Big guy? That thing was a he? A box with a gender? And big guy? Mako only knew one person that was considered big, himself and there was no way in hell he was going back into that room again. Pinching the bridge of his nose he let out a tired sigh, opening a draw in the desk and pulling out one of the dozens of same mind numbing pills, dropping it into the hands of the still shaking subject in front of him. “Take one a day with water and the symptoms will subside within three to seven days” They’d turn him too putty y the end of the week, another easy to control drone for the facility to abuse and use for whatever they pleased. A cruel fate but at least he was alive with no self contained terrors to haunt him.

He sent the lad on his way and leaned back in his chair forcing it too creak loudly under his weight as he gulped down the rest of his fourth coffee of the day. He’d spend another hour in the little room, reluctant to leave or be faced with the mountain of paperwork today's events would leave him, plus he didn't want to go back to the observation area outside the chamber just to collect the files he had already prepared waiting for him. Still he had work to do and had to leave eventually. 

With every reason under the sun to rush he went back to the chamber, gathering what papers he could as quickly as he could without so much as glancing at the glass between him and the anomaly. If he paid no attention it couldn't bother him. He’d almost make it out without a single problem, no glances, no voices, hell he was even able to skillfully balance the three mugs he had left behind over the last few days in one hand. Everything was going according to plan until he put one foot in front of the damn glass as he made a beeline for the exit. It all fell from his hands, mugs shattering as they hit the floor, eyes wide and locked on. 

Standing before him on the other side of the glass was a man. Tall, dead pale skin stretched over bones. Grin wide and toothy, hair patchy and burnt. He heard that same shrill voice from days before chuckle and cough as the figure raised what turned out to be it's only arm and give a wave. Mako noticed how it's missing arm just faded to nothing, in fact the whole thing seemed unreal. He’d turn away, shaking his head and rubbing his eyes before looking back again. 

It was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Every comment is greatly appreciated even if I don't respond, I find it hard to put feelings into words don't take it personally!


	3. Pills

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mako tries to bail out.

It was all in his head, it was all in his head. It was all totally impossible and in his head. The stress of 15 years inside the same concrete walls talking to nutjobs about how they feel after experiencing a repeating room or a zoologist sea slug. Maybe the crazy was starting to rub off onto him. The file itself said nothing about visual effects only audio, and while is was rare and varied from person to person it was never meant to last more than a few days at most. Besides he had only seen it once, no big deal.

And yet he’d hear it. That damn cackling. Quiet, irritating, echoing in the back of his mind. He could be in the canteen getting lunch, alone in his quarters trying desperately to get even just a few minutes of much needed sleep. He didn't need to be anywhere near the chamber too hear it and when he was near it was so much worse. Giggles turned to whispers, inaudible and impossible to understand. Utter nonsense, total gibberish. When he’d leave They’d scream, demanding and desperate. 

Mako had started keeping notes of the exact time and place he’d hear it earning himself a full four and a half pages by the end of the week. It was getting louder, more frequent, and no amount of painkillers prevented the splitting headache this nonsense was causing. He didn't even want to be alone with it anymore. Inside or out of the chamber. Everyday it got worse so by the end of the week he had made a decision. He was going to quit.

It was an easy choice to make. Sure he had waited 15 years to be assigned to an anomaly and sure he was pretty excited at the start of the week but now he was just tired. 

“I’m afraid I can't do that Mr.Rutledge” the much older scientist said from the safety of behind the desk, dropping the file onto its surface and reaching for his lukewarm tea. “Your last position has already been refilled and there are no other anomalies that require your areas of expertise to contain them”. He took a large gulp of the drink as he pushed the file back over to Mako who was stunned. Eyes darting from the file to the man in front of him. “look if something comes up You’ll be the first to know all right?”

Mako couldn't believe it. 15 years he worked here and the one time he asks the foundation for something they turn him away. With a deep sigh he stood, only giving a small nod in response as he snatched up the file and left the room. That was it. He was stuck. No choice but to continue enduring whatever the hell that thing threw at him. 

“I can help you ya’ know”

There is was, as clear as day as if someone had spoken right into his ear. But he knew, he knew exactly who or rather what had spoken to him and he’d had enough. If he couldn't leave he’d just block it all out. Not once in his life had he taken a pill that wasn't a painkiller or flu medicine and the ones he tend to prescribe to others he’d never put into his own body. But he wanted the noise to stop, and if staying away wasn't going to help, the what choice did he really have?

Mako knew he had some, a quick walk back to his office and a rummage through his desk confirmed he still had plenty of bottles to choose from. Big bottles filled to the brim intended to totally numb the poor sucker forcibly fed them. Small bottles only to give a little kick, out the brain back on track so tests could run smoothly or sleep was less of a chore. He took one of each bottle, better safe than sorry. 

“It's not gonna work” 

The voice sung out gleefully, as if it was teasing, pushing him to swallow every single pill for the sake of it. It kind of worked, Mako taking out two of the smaller pills and swallowing them, totally disregarding the need for water or the fact it said very clearly on the bottle he had to take them on a full stomach.

“It's not gonna work! It's not gonna work! It's not gonna-!”

“Shut up!” Mako slammed the bottle down, pills spilling onto the desk. A moment later he sat down head dropping into his hands as he took a deep breath. At least it was quiet now.

Not even the room ambience could bother him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slightly shorter chapyer than I intended but it seems to work well enough.
> 
> Spooky is still hard.


	4. Planning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things don't always go according to plan.

The distant ringing of a morning alarm stirred Mako from his sleep. He reached over switching it to sleep and rolled over, pulling the sheets over his head as he curled up in his bed. He figured he could sleep a little more before work, his shift didn't start for another hour giving him plenty of time to get himself ready even with an extra 15 minutes of sleep. As he settled back down eyes slowly closing he felt something off, something moving. An odd weight on the other side of the bed. Mako didn't have any pets, as much as he’d like a cat to cuddle up with or a dog to take out the foundation had a strict no pets policy. He decided to ignore it, figuring it might of been one of his many pillows moving out of its place at the head of the bed. 

As he began to drift off once again he felt it, the shift in movement, closer now. Mako glanced at the alarm clock beside the bed, it was off, odd. Reaching out he gave it a tao, no response. A closer look confirmed the clock was indeed switched on, plugged in as well. It was odd, but nothing to worry about, he could easily order a new one.

Well now that he was up, he might as well get ready. As he sat up Mako stretched his back letting out a series of cracks that normally would make anyone think they had died just from sitting uo. His hand went to the bedside table looking for the now familiar bottle of pills he had begun taking just a few days prior. Two every morning with breakfast, although he so far had taken them upon waking up, just to get used to them. So it was an unwelcome surprise when he couldn't find them. Not on the table, not beside it on the floor, Mako even checked under the bed but could find no sign of the little plastic bottle. This wasn't good. 

The last few days had been peaceful,h no voices, no noises, no headaches and he definitely hadn't seen anything. He needed those pills, he’d have to get some more. As he sat himself back down on the bed he felt it once again. Movement behind him. Before he could turn to investigate the cold touch of flesh pressed to his back. It sent shivers through him as whatever it was tried to grip his shirt. Mako’s body reacted with a violent jolt sending him up from the bed and almost to the door in a fright. As he caught his breath he forced his eyes to glance back at the bed.

It was empty.

Nothing but his pillows and blanket on top his shitty mattress that could stand to be replaced.   
This was stupid, just stupid. It was all in his head, nothing was real and if he let it get to him he was only slowing himself down. He’d just continue on as normal, nothing was going to get in his way.

\-----  
The daily feeding, as he began to call it went as smoothly as it could. No one was hurt, no one saw or heard anything, Mako was even in the clear having recovered some new medication just hours before. The usual type of item was given, old office supplies. Today it was a pen who’s ink had ran out just days before and judging by the silence it hadn't been rejected.

For once Mako could relax, his head was pain free, his day had gone smoothly (Bar this morning's fright), and he had plenty of time to think. Plenty of time to plan. He was going to get to the bottom of this, find out exactly what he was dealing with, find out everything the foundation had missed about this tiny wooden anomaly. The information he had already was basic enough. A short, one page document detailing everything he needed or rather was authorised to know and it was more of an instruction sheet on how to keep the thing under control.

“Place an item of non organic origin inside the box once every 24 hours. Lead gloves are to be worn to prevent physical contact.” 

Okay Mako understood the use of the gloves, he had seen what could happen if someone didn't wear them, the image of that poor man's hands melting before him still fresh in his mind and would likely never leave him. But what he didn't understand was the ‘no organic offering’ rule. Did it mean no live animals? No people? If so he could understand he wasn't about to sneak down to Bio and steal test mice, and no way a full person could fit inside. Mako wondered, could he put his lunch in there? 

He’d note it down, one of the many things he’d investigate, along with where it came from and exactly how long it had been in care if the foundation, two things also left out on the document.

Mako would continue on like this, sitting alone in the little room outside the chamber. Making notes and sipping lazily as his slowly cooling coffee. Occasionally he’d glance up at the glass window to the chamber, searching for even the smallest of changes only to be relieved to find nothing out of the ordinary. 

Until once again the noises began to ring. First just a distant ringing, like tinnitus. A few quick taps to the side of his head dispelled the noise quickly enough only for it to return just as fast, louder, closer and soon joined by an orchestra of other equally painful sounds. Clicking of teeth grinding together, scraping of nails on wood. Sometimes distant as if it was rooms away, just the ambience of the facility working endlessly around him. Sometimes right in his ear, as if the source stood right behind him. 

Mako did all he could to ignore it, to keep on working with his plans, taking notes over and over again, repeating already recorded information just to distract from the growing pain in the back of his head. 

It was all fake, it wasn't real, all in his head, nothing to worry about, it couldn't hurt him, couldn't kill him. It wasn't the worst thing inside these walls. It wasn't some super predator or a dimension hopper. It wasn't animate and it wasn't sentient. It was just a box, a box that couldn't be filled.

So why the hell did his head feel like it was going to split into two at any moment? Mako had finally had enough, dropping the pen in his hand onto the table he quickly stood, gathering up his papers and gulping down the last of the lukewarm coffee. His shift wasn't over for another hour but the best thing about being in charge of an anomaly was being his own boss, and he didn't care anymore all he wanted was to get away.

“Oi! why do you keep leaving me?”

Mako immediately faced the chamber greeted by the grin of that pale figure, boney and malnourished, right limbs fading into nothing. It stood there right next to the glass with its stupid grin and crazed eyes, staring into him. Mako stated back, refusing to answer a figment, an image in his head. Instead he went to the door pausing halfway to return to the desk and grab the empty coffee cup. 

“Oi! Mate! I asked you a question!” 

Don't answer, don't even look at it, just leave and it will go away. It was almost like disciplining a stubborn child, just ignore them they will get the idea eventually, they can't get everything they wanted. 

He was so close, hand hovering inches from the panel, key card in hand ready to unlock the door when the all too familiar yet always jarring screech of alarms rang throughout the facility. He dropped his card, and the coffee cup, cursing silently to himself as the alarms continued. Once a week They’d have a drill. No set time and always a surprise. To test the security systems and the reactions of the staff when something broke out of containment. Not that it frequently happened and if something did break out it was almost completely harmless, just a pain in the ass to catch. 

Nonetheless Mako was stuck, the door on lock down until the test was over, great. So he returned to his desk, keeping his head down and away from the glass in front of him, the thing still stood, grinning and staring, letting out a shrill giggle at the situation. 

“Looks like you're stuck with me, eh? Mako?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I planned this to go so very differently but chickened out I am so sorry. 
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you for all the comments and support and such it makes me so very happy to see it, I don't normally write so the encouragements and comments really help!!


	5. Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonding wasn't part of the plan.

This wasn't happening.

This wasn't happening.

The door wouldn't open, no matter how many times he pushed his key card to the slot he was met with the all too familiar bleep that indicated the bloody thing was locked. Even a quick pull at the handle was futile. He was stuck. Stuck in the same room with the thing that had been tormenting him for weeks on end.

No big deal, security tests never lasted more than half an hour, all it did was give him a little more time to work, time to plan. Mako took a seat at his desk once more, carefully setting out papers so he could see each one clearly with the tablet in the center, ready to work. 

The room remained silent for sometime bar the distant ring of security alarms that has now become background noise. Nothing came from the Chamber in front of him, the irritating figment leaving him alone for the time being. Mako didn’t dare to look up fearing that giving it even the smallest amount of attention would spur it into one of its senseless rambles or whatever it’d choose to do just to get his attention. 

The silence wouldn’t last long, but it did give Mako enough time to prepare a few small questions, little queries that he hoped would keep the entity busy long enough for it not to resort to source of entertainment. Mako was halfway through jotting down a question on the tablet when the silence of the room finally gave, the entity tapping the class window of the containment chamber. 

Tap tap tap tap 

“Oi, Mako, Mate, Mr.Scientist man” 

Tap tap tap tap 

“Hey Mako!” 

He couldn’t ignore it anymore, with a sigh Mako looked up, locking eyes with the figment. 

“What?” 

“I’m bored” 

That much was obvious. Every time he made contact with the entity it was always bored. Honestly he couldn’t blame it, spending every waking moment of existence inside a tiny white walled chamber, the only view outside being that of yet another tiny white walled room. No sunlight, no stimulation, just it and it’s box and even then Mako wasn’t sure if what he was looking at was even real or just something his mind had made up. He almost felt sorry for the thing. 

“Alright then, you can answer some questions then”. 

“What for?”

“Research.” 

Mako scrolled through the tablet, setting up the first question in the small list. Unsure of how many he’d get through before he could leave he’d try and get through as many as he could, as quickly as he could. As a backup he set the tablet to record any audio, if this thing was real, the recording would prove it. The entity seemed interested enough as well, eyes lighting up as he read out the first question. 

“Do you have a name?” 

It scoffed, crossing it arms over it’s chest, glancing away for a moment as it began to think. Already it was faltering, seemingly reluctant to answer now. It was fine, Mako could wait. 

“Yeah of course! Everyone does right? Just been a while since anyone took the time to ask!”

“Just answer the question”

“Alright Alright fine...It’s Jamie”. 

That was a start. Mako made a quick note of it on the tablet, wasting no time with the next few questions. Keeping things simple and not wanting to pry too much too early Mako stuck with simple things. He asked how old the einity believed himself to be, 25 years apparently, odd considering the paint on the box had been dated back to the 40’s as it was lead based, the wood even older. It only opened more questions, something Mako would have to go into at a later date. 

The entity or rather Jamie was only more eager to answer the next few questions, ‘What items held a particular interest to it?’, so they could plan what to bring next. Jamie was quick to answer with “Matches!”, Mako quickly shot it down with a firm ‘No’. The questions continued, going back and forth between the two. Every now and again Jamie would ask his own question, something mundane and simple and Mako would give an answer. Soon the interview was beginning to look more like a normal conversation. Yes each side started with a question but as time went on things would slowly slip into something casual, something friendly almost.

It had to stop.

Security alarms had silenced some time ago. Mako had plenty of information to work with, Jamie wasn't bored anymore. It was enough. As Jamie trailed off into an explanation as to why he thought his chamber was dull, in need of a bit of colour and a huge TV for him to watch the latest and greatest drama flicks on Mako began to pack away. 

“Hey Mako? Where ya’ goin’?”

“My shift is over, security test has finished” don't make eye contact, don't look up, just keep packing away, this was all part of the test. He’d remind himself over and over, heading for the door once everything was safely tucked away in his case. 

“No no no! You can't go yet! I wasn't done!” Jamie made his way along the window, following Mako as he stepped past. He’d tap furiously when ignored by the other man, desperate for the interaction to continue. 

“you can't just leave me here!”

He could.

“It's so boring here alone!” 

As it should be. An inanimate object made of wood and painted rather poorly with shoddy lead based paste didn't need stimulation of any kind. So far it had managed just fine.

Jamie was pacing the length of the chamber, hands gripping what little hair stood on his head as he mumbled and shook. Once more he’d press his hands to the glass, twisting his neck in order to see the other as much as he could. 

“I can help you ya’ know!” 

Key card inches from the panel, Mako had stopped. He shouldn't listen, he should leave. 

“We both want the same thing right? Wanna get out? Yeah I know you do I’ve seen it you hate this place as much as I do!” 

That wasn't wrong, but not right either. He didn't hate this place, this facility, it was practically home and had been for over a decade. Leaving would be nice but he’d never get to go, not with his memory in tact. 

“I could get you out, far from this place, all you gotta do is listen and help, just get me a few things!” 

No. He wouldn't do it, not now not ever. Countless times he’d seen this anomalies bargaining for freedom. It never worked only the stupid gave in. Mako wasn't stupid. With a sigh he pressed the card to the panel, stepping out as soon as it opened. His head filling with high shrieks that ached and stung as Jamie begged, demanded he come back and listen. He almost fell for it, covering his ears until it began to dull. He’d switch off the tablet and hastily return to his room, exhausted and in need of one hell of a coffee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What even is an upload consistency?
> 
> But thanks everyone for reading! I am having fun with this even if chapters are short and spooky is still a pain to write. 
> 
> Although this is SCP based I am taking some liberties with things here and there.


	6. Grandma's house

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taking a trip down memory lane.

His grandmother, in the kindest sense of the word, was a hoarder and when she died he and his mother had the very honor of cleaning everything up. It’d take a few days and a lot of it would have to be thrown away, but it was something to do and when you are a jobless, half limbed idiot it was better than nothing at all.

Already they had been at it for two days, barely making a dent in sorting out every bit of junk in the three story house his late grandmother called home, didn't help that a small Portion of the third floor had collapsed, leading to the old woman's untimely death. 

He barely knew the woman, she spent all her time inside the house. Once a year he’d get a birthday or Christmas card with a small bit of cash or a small present, usually a hat or sweater that she had knitted. She wasn't a bad person, just lonely and obsessed with her stuff.

All day he’d been working in the basement, packing what he could into boxes, anything that could be thrown out tossed into bags and thrown outside into a truck. Pretty much all of it was trash, almost nothing of family value or any valid for that matter. He found a few family photo albums but of no one he recognized so it was assumed they were long gone great aunts and uncles, judging by photo quality and dates. Among the albums he’d find old records and paintings, ornaments caked with dust. In the box they’d go, maybe he would keep the records for himself.

It was almost noon and he deserved a break having cleared enough space on the floor to sit down. Taking a quick drink of water from his trusty flask, he’d rewind his cassette tape and check out some of the old books he had found in the mess. It was a good one, his grandmother had taste. An old horror about a rabid dog terrorising a family. It didn't scare him instead giving him a bit of a chuckle. 

It was during his break he’d notice it. Creeping up on him. Small, black. Cutting into the ground with a deep crack. Leading to a door he didn't realise was there before and cleverly hidden behind a stack of boxes he had yet to sort.

Putting the book facedown to remember his page he got up from the floor, following the unusual crack. The air thickened with dust as he got closer, almost like a fog leaking from whatever was hidden inside. Carefully he stepped, avoiding the abundance of mouse traps, some empty some old, the smell strong. Using the full weight of his body he managed to push the pile to one side, keeping it intact without a single box falling or spilling it’s contents. 

The door was locked but the padlock rusted black, crumbling slightly as he touched. It was cold, cold enough to give a shock forcing him to draw his hand back. Curiosity would drive him on, peeking through the tiny gap between the wooden door and concrete floor. Something was in there, he could see it. A table, and dozens more mouse traps littering the floor. 

Quickly he searched the boxes, pulling out a few ornaments and hefty books, returning to the lock, using them to break it open. After smashing two porcelain cats and denting a cookbook of cake recipes the lock finally shattered, the door swinging open and allowing the dusty fog to leak out in full force. Thick it filled his lungs, leading him to double over and cough for several moments. Eventually it would clear. 

The room small, it's walls black with decay. Areas close to buckling with age. Paint crumbled, cracks actively forming all around. Dead remains new and old of mice, rats and bugs, the smell stronger than before. In the center of the tiny cupboard sized room, sat on a perfectly clean, white painted table, was an equally perfect, tiny, white box.

\-------------

This was ridiculous. 

Hours he had sat there, listening to the recording over and over again. Hearing his own voice ask the same questions again and again. Yet when Jamie, the entity, was supposed to speak, nothing. No voice, no ambience, not even some otherworldly static. Just silence. 

All of that time wasted. Mako didn't want to do it all again, spending just a mere moment with that creature was unbearable let along half an hour with it rattling on in his ear. This was meant to have helped, a recording of actual proof that what the facility had contained, classed as a safe, non-sentient, unharmful, inanimate object that just needed a feeding schedule was actually a living thing, somewhat. 

Maybe it really was all just in his head, nothing more than the side effect of the job, years surrounded by all sorts of usual things causing all sorts of strange happenings to the human minds that chose to care for them. 

Maybe he really did need to retire, his own mind getting too old to handle anything like this anymore.

Either way he couldn't show this to anyone, it was useless, made him look nuts sitting around and talking to himself. He did have the transcript maybe it had some value to his own investigation at least, and judging by the bleak results of the first test he would indeed be doing this on his own. 

Already on his third cup Mako refilled his coffee once again, chugging half down before heading out of his quarters. He had an hour before the noon feeding, and he wanted to prepare something special for his young anomaly friend. 

First his office, gathering a few supplies, a fresh notebook, some pens, stuffed neatly into a plastic bag. Then to the canteen to get his lunch of salad, tea and an apple. Then to the facility shop. A place he rarely visited preferring to save his credit for the Internet café or the gym. He didn't get anything big and what he did decide to purchase earned him an odd look from the woman tending to the tiny store. A 6-pack of wax crayons, packed away with the notebook.

With everything in order Mako went to the chamber, dreading whatever reception he’d get from the entity inside. Taking a deep break, he pressed the card to the panel and stepped in. Lights flickered on automatically giving life to the empty room. When he didn't hear the usual mixture of rambling, giggles, screeching or noise Mako carefully made his way in, being sure to lock the door, keeping him in and anyone else out. 

Not daring to peek inside the glass he instead made his way to the desk, neatly organising everything from his lunch to the pack of crayons onto his desk. He’d sit down and wait for Jamie to appear, he knew that by now the entity didn't have the patience to stay hidden away forever when the chance for some attention was sat just meters away. 

So he’d wait. 

And wait.

With 10 minutes to go he began working on his lunch, taking a few bites of the crispy, slightly over salted salad, pausing between bites to glance up at the glass in front of him. Everything seemed normal, he could see the box in its usual pace in the center of the room on the center of the table on top of its lead stand. Dust clung to the air around it, a bit thicker than he remembered but perhaps the chamber just needed a clean out, every chamber did once in a while. With a few bites left he went back to eating, taking a quick sip of tea as well. 

“Hey Mako, spare a bite or two? Really hungry over here”.

“No” There he was. Finally, just minutes before noon and already irritating.

“Oh come on! Please? I never get any food”.

“Rules state I am not to give you any food, at all” he didn't know why and although he was curious he wasn't so sure he wanted to find out. Besides, he wasn't really real, figments can't eat. Salad finished he moved the plastic tub into the trash can beside the desk and checked his watch. Noon. Time to get this over with. 

Honestly he didn't want to go inside, stand within the same walls as his tormentor. But it was a part of the job, and today he had planned something a little different from the normal broken pen or slightly bent paperclip. If Jamie was really there, a real thing, not just some hallucination plaguing his mind, maybe he’d appreciate this small gift. 

He grabbed the notebook and crayons, hesitantly stepping towards the chamber entrance. From this angle he couldn't see Jamie, he had no clue where he could've been standing. Right at the door? By the glass? Curled up in the corner hand over his head as he too waited for things to pass quickly and quietly. It didn't matter, Mako still had to go inside and soon, missing a feed was also a great big no-no. 

Taking a deep breath and holding it Mako quickly unlocked the door, rushing in towards the box, dumping the crayons and notebook inside and rushing out. His eyes never leaving the floor far too afraid of coming face to face with the entity. The door shut behind him, locking automatically. His head ringing with the now expected ring that filled his ears. Next time he was sending in someone else, it worked just fine before.

Sitting back at the desk he finished up his tea, chucking the cup into the trash can with the rest. Jamie had since vanished from the chamber or at least Mako couldn't see him. Maybe he had moved to the corner, sitting away from the glass window. Shy? It was True that Mako had yet to see him take anything from the box. Maybe he didn't like anyone coming into the chamber so he hid away? No matter, he wasn't around therefore Mako could work in peace, and finish his lunch. 

The apple was gone. 

Had he accidentally thrown it away? Had it rolled off the desk when he cleaned up? A quick search of both the floor and trash can verified both as false, his gut sinking as he glanced up at the glass.

It was on the table, inside the chamber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He is reading Cujo. One of the first horror books I ever read. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! It means a lot even if it's just a quick glance over.


	7. Hunger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Memories are a hard thing to keep track of and so is a rather sudden and painful symptom.

His head hurt, his ears rang, his face stung.

He was hungry, really hungry.

As Mako sat up his back cracked as if he had never seen a day of comfort in his life. Slowly his vision adjusted to the dim light of the room, he didn't recognize a thing. White walls, grey sheets. Ahead of him a door leading to a bathroom. Right arm wrapped tightly in fresh bandages and held close to his chest with a support brace. Why? What had happened? 

Didn't matter, his mind focused on one thing, food. Just by his luck a tray sat beside his bed on a small table. A bowl of porridge,still warm, fruit and cold water.

Good enough.

Without even a hint of hesitation Mako snatched up the bowl, scarfing down its contents in a matter of seconds, then the fruit, a small bunch of grapes and a plum and then finally a bottle of chilled water. His stomach hurt like hell after having eaten so quickly, but at least he wasn't hungry anymore. 

No instead he just felt sick, sick and confused. How long had he been here? What the hell even happened that he ended up here? Getting up from the bed and searching around the room confirmed his suspicions that he was in the medical ward, having found a bottle of painkillers on offer with the food, his inhaler with it as well and at the end of the bed a clipboard with his name on it as well as a reason as to why he was stuck in medical in the first place.

‘Multiple second degree burns to the right hand, arm and right side of face’.

Well that would explain the cast and why everything hurt so much.

Hang on.

Face?

He rushed to the bathroom, staring into the mirror at the sight before him. The clipboard didn't lie, he was indeed burnt. Deep scar tissue traveled across his face starting from his chin on the right and spreading far upwards and even across to just below his left eye. Deep, sore to the touch and void of colour, instead of the usual red or pink of fresh scar tissue he instead saw grey like it was rotted rather than burnt.

He was unclear whether it was the sight before him or how quickly he ate but as quickly as he put down the food he was hurling back up again in sink below him. It left him hungry again but with nothing left to eat he could only wait instead washing his mouth out with water after emptying his stomach.

He had to get out, find out what happened, what day it was, how long he’d been cooped up in the damn room. The door was locked of course, Mako couldn't expect no less from a foundation whose sole purpose was to keep things locked away. Still he tried, giving the handle a strong pull and a decent push. The door didn't budge as expected but he continued, banging his remaining fist on the small class window and calling out for help. 

 

That had worked, just moments before panic could set in one of the many on staff nurses who squeezed their way through the door and past Mako before forcing him to sit back down on the bed once again.

“Dr.Rutledge I didn't expect you to be up just yet, how are you feeling? Was the food okay?” she questioned him as she fussed. Checking in vitals, cleaning up the tray, made sure his brace wasn't too tight or too loose. Mako could only respond with grunts and mumbles, still a little too overwhelmed by the whole situation. He still couldn't remember and could only assume the nurse knew as much as he did, nothing at all. “Is there anything I can get you at all?” 

“mmh...some more food...please” it was all his mind went back too, how hungry he was, even if he did just throw up it only left his gut wanting more. Besides there wasn't much he could do, when the foundation wants to keep something hidden they do it and do it well, he could only wait to get an answer.

Or hope he’d remember it himself.

\----------

Mako would spend the next few days stuck in the tiny room. Every few hours a nurse would check on him, bring him something to eat something to read. He’d get little snippets of details on what exactly happened when Doctors would visit. Apparently he was found unconscious outside the containment chamber of the anomaly in his charge, it was assumed some kind of breach happened and an alert was sounded only to be called off a few hours later when everything was deemed safe. He’d only get more hungry, asking for larger portions when the nurse showed up. It would never be enough and most of the time he’d only throw it back up again. He assumed it was just a side effect of the painkillers, the doctors assumed also. Surely it would pass.

It wouldn't and by the third day when he was finally given the all clear to return to work he wasn’t feeling any better. The vomiting had subsided or at least calmed but his hunger only grew. During meal times he’d order larger portions, seconds then thirds. When they wouldn't or rather couldn't give him more he’d go to the staff shop and buy handfuls of snacks and sweets, anything to keep his hunger at bay. 

By day five be was allowed to go back to work. Brace finally removed and vomiting completely gone. Thankful that someone had taken over his duties with the box whilst he was recovering. The chamber was clean, tidy, it was almost as if nothing had ever happened at all. 

If only he could remember.

There was no sign of Jamie. Usually Mako wouldn't care, the less he had to deal with that thing the better. Yet today the lifeless interior of the chamber filled him with nothing but worry, fear nagging in the back of his head. He couldn't hear anything, in fact his days away in recovery had been quiet. He welcomed the silence to not have high pitched rings or metal grinding or constant whispering was a very much welcomed relief. But now? The silence was more terrifying. 

Sitting as the desk Mako began going through the records of the last view days, everything he missed listed neatly, ready for him to read over. All was normal, his temporary replacement sticking to the strict ‘diet’ of non-organic, not important junk items that had been approved by the higher ups. No upsets had been reported at least nothing violent. No test subjects had been hurt. 

There was something however. Tucked away at the back of the report. A little slip of lined paper stained with dim patches of grey soot, corners and edges frayed as if someone held a match to them for a few short seconds. Mako took it out, turning it over in his hand. Blank on one side, on the other scrawled messily in red crayon on the other…

‘I didn't mean it’.

Then it hit him, what had happened. Mako glanced at the glass window a second slip of the same paper stuck to it from the inside. Scribbled on to it in the same red crayon. 

‘She made me do it’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! This took so much longer to get done than I had hoped. Mainly because work likes to sneak up on me from time to time. 
> 
> Thank you for all the support, it means a lot!


	8. Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mako doesn't handle the truth so well

Everything came flooding back. Those few short moments of fear that filled his body, forced him to make split second decisions that in the heat of the moment he believed would bring about the end of his own life. 

That apple had never left the desk, it wasn't even in the chamber. It was nothing more than another figment crafted by that damned entity to trick him into doing its bidding. But it had worked, Mako had foolishly wandered into the chamber to retrieve it, foolishly left the door wide open all because he couldn't wrap his head around the fact the apple had vanished from his sight once again as soon as he entered the chamber walls. Mako had foolishly approached the white, metal table that held the little, white box, oblivious to the spell it had placed on his already stressed and weakened mind drawing him closer with every passing second.

The spell only broke when something had pushed him, Mako instinctively reaching out to catch himself before he fell. One hand gripped onto the table, the other onto the box. Never before had Mako felt pain quite like this, searing hot as his skin blistered, blackened and cracked. The pain would linger as he broke away, the cracks in his skin slowing as they journeyed further along his wrist. He had to get out, get to a doctor and get this treated before he lost his hand for good but as he turned for the Chambers exit the all too familiar warning buzz of a locked door rang outside the chamber. 

Jamie had gotten out. 

The fact that Mako had heard the Buzz a second then a third time gave him some hope, Jamie couldn't get out without a key card and thankfully Mako was smart enough to keep it in his pocket at all times. so he the advantage. He heard a fourth Buzz as he got to the chamber door the Entity now attempting to push it open. It took every ounce of strength, every last bit of willpower he had to ignore not only the tingling of dying flesh on his body but also the screams that had erupted in his head. Demanding him to return to the chamber, insulting, begging, commanding him to return to the box like it was his master. But Mako didn't, instead he ran. He ran for the door, ran for Jamie tackling him to the ground. His skin would burn again, this time cold but still equally as painful perhaps even more so than before. Every part of him that Jamie touched hurt, pain intensifying as he struggled and fought. He was strong, but Mako was stronger. The struggle was short lived as it took little effort for Mako to lift the entity and return him to the chamber this time doubly sure the entrance was shut and sealed. As soon as the chamber shut the screaming ceased, the door acting as a protective barrier from his mind as well as the outside world.

Mako had done his job. He had kept his assigned object secure and contained. The facility was safe, the world was safe but all at the cost of his own safety. He’d stare at the scars on his hand, the uneven lines and cracks encasing necrotic black skin that the doctors could only describe as an oddly coloured burn. Mako could just make out his reflection in the glass wall of the chamber, he could see how the scar traveled up from his arm and onto his face, disfiguring him horrendous, ugly scars. 

For the first time in his life, Mako hated his job. He regretted every decision he had made to get here, the time and detection he used to earn his doctorates, to perfect his perfection and become one of the best in his field. So good in fact the foundation had approached him asking for him to join them. He never should have agreed, he should have stayed away. 

Mako returned to his desk his head heavy and stomach aching. Once again plagued with that insatiable hunger. All he could do was endure, hope it would eventually go away. 

It wasn't totally clear to Mako how much time had passed from when he sat down to now, he hadn't gotten any work done, instead he had wasted his time staring at the documents in front of him, re reading again and again the file all about the tiny box. It never mentioned Jamie as a side effect, thr hallucinations had only been listed as Auditory, never visual. It mentioned all the rules he had to follow, one object a day, nothing that could cause harm and nothing considered organic or edible. Never touch the box, a rule he had followed to the point that he had taken care to limit how many times he’d even enter the chamber, instead sending in some poor test subject to do the feeding for him. 

It mentioned where the box came from. The information was of course sparse. No actual address, no names, not even a date to when it was found. Just the very basics. The white box had come from a collapsed home in Perth, Australia. Mako had read this a dozen times over, even before the attempted escape. He had never really paid it any mind, the objects held here came from all over the country, some from other areas of the earth. It didn't affect how the object was contained, it didn't change the rules, all if did was give the tiniest bit of backstory to an object that technically and officially shouldn't be able to exist. 

A cramp of pain hit his stomach once again, causing Mako to groan. It was distracting but his shift wasn't over yet, he couldn't leave now. 

“You feel it too, don't ya?” 

So, just like clockwork, ten minutes before the scheduled feed the Entity had showed it’s face to taunt, annoy or do whatever it needed to do before it was given whatever piece of junk Mako decided it deserved. 

“Hunger, can't stop it? All day every day? Well get used to it make ‘cus it ain't gonna stop”. 

That shrill voice that stung his ears, irritating his already banging headache. Apparently it knew, a creature that was nothing but a ghost, a phantom apparently knew what it was like to be hungry. It couldn't even eat, it didn't need to eat and yet it still had the gall to attempt to relate to him. Mako kept his eyes on the papers, doing his very best to ignore it. 

“I know a way to make it stop, ‘least for a bit anyways”. 

The cramp returned for a brief few seconds but it was in those seconds Mako considered listening. Taking advice from the one thing causing him a lifetime's worth of grief. It was getting harder to handle, the cramps becoming ever stronger, more frequent. Perhaps for once it wouldn't hurt to listen to the voices in his head. He’d look away from the papers and at the man behind the glass. Jamie grinned response, Mako’s attention having pleased him. 

“Right all you gotta do is bring us some food”.

Of course it wanted food, of course it wanted to break the rules of its containment. Every Entity here that was capable of such acts would try it at least once during their confinement, no surprise Jamie here was giving it a go. Mako was vulnerable, recovering from a recent injury and now plagued with some unexplainable ailment. The vulnerable were easy to manipulate, easy to take advantage of. But not Mako. No matter what plagued him Mako would not back down. He stood, groaning a bit as his stomach protested his movements but nonetheless he move to the chamber glass, Jamie’s smile faltering as he moved away from the edge slightly. Mako went as close as he could get, leaning down to meet Jamie’s eye level so he could see the damage he had cause just days prior.

“You think I’d help you after the hell you have caused me?” 

Jamie was silent, pale eyes locked onto Mako’s own. He tried to bring the smile back with some success, moving further away from the glass. 

“I- didn't do that! Wasn't my idea, all hers! Not mine! I already told ‘ya!” 

“Who is ‘her?” 

Jamie was silent, his smile once again gone this time with no hope of return. Pale eyes darted to the floor, to Mako, to the table and the box perched on top. 

Impossible, ridiculous. Never had that thing shown signs of sentience, no communication, no movement. Just unusual corrosive properties that cause Hallucinations in a select number of individuals. Unless those Hallucinations were in fact communication, what if Jamie was it's only way of communicating? 

No, he wouldn't believe it, couldn't. Mako backed away from the glass and made his way to the exit. He didn't bother to return to the desk to gather his things, he just wanted to get out and away from everything. 

“Mako? Mako mate come back! What about my thing?!” tapping turned to banging as Jamie’s voice rose with panic, desperate to get the attention of Mako. He had a point, it was almost time and they had a routine to follow. “come on mate please! She’ll be so upset you can't break routine!”. 

But he was. If Jamie wanted to break the rules then rules would be broken, however Mako had chosen exactly which rule to break. It was a test, one being done more so out of spite rather than in the name of progress. This thing wanted something that was forbidden, and rather than deny it the forbidden treat he instead was going to deny it any anything and everything. 

Mako left the chamber empty handed, head pounding and gut on fire, but at least he was away, at least until he was due to return the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy that was overdue!
> 
> I'be been caught up in a sea of coursework over the last month so updates have and will be sparse until it's all done. Still I am so glad to have gotten to this point, I am having a lot of fun writing this. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!


	9. Breach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things Just keep going wrong for Mako.

At least once in a lifetime someone will make a decision they regret. Not necessarily a mistake, but a regret.

Mako could proudly say he had never done such a thing. He had almost perfect control over everything that had ever happened in his life; every choice he had ever made leading up to where he was now had been carefully crafted to get him there. Even if being approached by the foundation almost fifteen years ago wasn’t part of the plan, it was a job he couldn’t refuse. So when Mako was woken by what he could only assume was yet another test run of the security system, he was finally able to add something to that empty list of regrets. 

It was loud, too loud, and wasn’t welcomed by the old man. He had barely gotten a wink of sleep, his head aching from his previous encounter with Jamie. The shrieking cries, although distant, had never left his head, becoming an irritated whisper that seemed determined to make every moment of Mako’s life unbearable.

If he could help it he was going to ignore the sirens, stay within the safety of his room, simply just ride out the test. That is what his little room had been designed for. A safe house resilient enough to survive most breach scenarios, so long as he could drown out the sound of the alarms. 

The alarms however didn’t stop. Instead they only got louder, the following   
announcements confirming his worst fears. 

 

“THERE HAS BEEN A CONTAINMENT BREACH IN CHAMBER #3978. REPEAT: OBJECT #3978 HAS BREACHED CONTAINMENT. PERSONNEL ARE ADVISED TO STAY WITHIN THEIR ROOMS UNTIL OBJECT #3978 HAS BEEN RE-CONTAINED. ALL RELEVANT PERSONNEL ARE TO REPORT TO THE CHAMBER”

 

The announcement repeated , droning on with buzz after buzz of the alarms, stopping only to repeat the same equally as loud message as it had done just moments before.To Mako it only got louder, further aggravating the panic that filled him. He shot up from his bed, listening to the announcement as it entered its fourth repeat. That number was his, the number assigned to the object in his charge. The report he had gotten at the very start had stated that the object was inanimate, harmless at a distance and incapable of escape. So what the hell had happened in the chamber?

As Mako rushed to get dressed his mind went through every possibility. Had the table the box sat on collapsed? Had some unauthorised person entered the chamber? Had Jamie gotten out? 

All impossible - that chamber was built to be an impenetrable wall, preventing anyone without the proper papers from getting in while stopping anything inside from getting out. Walls lined with lead, bullet proof glass, doors with 6 inch thick metal also filled with lead; you could never be too careful with an object that completely destroyed every law of science you could imagine, corroding materials both organic and synthetic in nature within seconds of contact. 

The distance from his room to the chamber was short, but felt all too long to the old doctor. The alarms continued, becoming a blur along with the announcement. The facility was in chaos- it wasn't often a breach occurred, and usually they were sorted within minutes with either the containment or destruction of the escaped item. But this was different. A ‘Safe’ class item causing a panic? Hell, breaches themselves were hugly uncommon since most contained items had been deemed quite harmless. In his almost fifthteen years of working here, Mako had never seen a breach that caused harm. Panic, sure, but never harm.

He came to a sudden stop as he turned the corner, dread in his stomach. The hallway filled with guards and scientists, it was a mess.  
The chamber was no better, equality filled with guards and scientists. The floor was littered with shattered glass, dust and don't filled the air. Blackened stains of decay decorated the floors and walls in sparse patches. The glass window that separated the box (And Jamie) from the rest of the world, completely destroyed. Mako peered in, relief washing through him at the sight of the white box still in its place upon the table. Adding to that relief was the news that no one had been hurt; he quickly found out that the alarm had been raised because a passerby had heard a bang coming from within the chamber - hence the shattered window. Mako was stumped. The other scientists weren’t faring much better. All they could do was make a record of the accident, take photos, make notes, and clean up the mess within the chamber. 

As the one technically in charge, Mako took the lead. With no sign of anything actually getting out of the chamber Mako's first order was to turn off the damn alarm, since it wasn't helping with the situation. Working around the other personnel Mako began making his own notes, stepping into the inner walls of the chamber. 

The door was intact and still functional. It was harder to break than the glass, at least for the object behind it. Lined thickly with lead just like the walls, it contained the only material that seemed somewhat immune to the corrosion. The glass didn't contain it, of course, so if the box was in fact sentient and did indeed attempt some sort of break out it only made sense for it to target the glass window. 

Jamie also had been rather quiet. In fact ever since Mako entered the busy chamber the distance voices had gone completely silent. It made some sense, now certainly wasn't the time for Jamie to make an appearance. It was the middle of the night, Jamie always showed up around noon. It didn't fit the pattern, something had gone wrong, wrong enough that it caused some sort of freak out but whether Jamie or the box he seemed so instant on being alive enough to care about was anyone's guess. 

Jamie followed a pattern. Appear everyday at around noon to be fed, stick around and annoy the shit out of Mako for 10 minutes to an hour at the very least or for long enough Mako was the one to leave, then go back to being a distant headache until the next day.

But Jamie didn't get a feed. Mako freaked out; got angry. Outright refused to allow this thing to get into his head and yet judging by the mess surrounding him he had allowed it to get the better of him. 

No matter, it was too late to go back now. All that could be done was to clean up the mess and repair the window. It would take a few days, and the box would have to be placed in temporary storage but it had to be done, Mako didn't have much choice. 

Over the next hour clean up would go relatively smoothly. The box was safely removed, placed in crate no bigger than it was with several slabs of lead in casing it as a precaution. Safely locked away in a temporary chamber just a few meters down the hall. The Chamber was sealed off and Mako was finally allowed to go and get some much deserved sleep.

As Mako entered his quarters he brought his hand to his face, whipping away the sweat that dotted his brow. He’d glance at his watch; just over an hour until his shift started, barely enough time to refresh his mind with a quick nap. It wouldn't stop him however as he stepped into the tiny bathroom off off the side, removing his lab coat, tie and even his shirt as he filled the sink with lukewarm water and splashed it over his face a few times.

For a moment he would pause, eyes dancing over his reflection in the mirror hanging just above his sink. He would never get used to the scar, the way it dragged itself across his skin, as if something was crawling it's way from his arm and up to the top of his head. He remembered how it burned, how Jamie burned, turning his flesh to ash in just a few short moments. It was how that ashy tint remained on his skin that frightened him the most, it was unnatural, unnerving.

Mako was drawn from his reflection at the sound of something moving in his quarters. A crash, metallic in nature followed by a thump as something else hit the floor. Things getting into his room wasn't totally unheard of to Mako. As much as the facility didn't like to admit it the place had a bit of a pest problem. Rat's living in the walls, chewing up cables and stealing food and once or twice before he had seen one of the little buggers making nest under his bed or in his sock drawer. 

As Mako returned to his room he was expecting a rat or two, skitttering across his floor or climbing his shelves to get at the stash of chocolate he kept hidden away for himself. What he wasn't expecting was Jamie sat on his bed crossed legged and twitching, empty eyes watching the room as if something was watching him and him only. The blanket of the bed was stained, beginning to waste away beneath the creature, turning black and crumbling slowly. 

“What th-" 

Those Empty eyes snapped to Mako, a grin forming on his face. Jamie seemed to calm in almost an instant, jumping up from his spot on the bed the blanket returning to almost the colour it was previously, A bit duller in that one patch compared to the rest. 

“Mako! Mate! I knew I’d find you here! I’ve been lookin’ everywhere for ya did you know how huge this place is?! I mean for a place that no one is meant to know about it is bloody huge how do you not get lo-" 

Mako rose his hands, stepping back slightly in his best efforts to get away. Jamie was here, in his room, completely visible breaking the established pattern and on top of that he had gotten here unseen(And hopefully) without causing any damage. 

“How’d you get in here?” Mako tried to sound calm, his voice breaking ever so slightly as he continued to step back, he needed to be calm.

“Oh! Easy! The Vents" he pointed towards the vent in the very corner of the room, the grate normally attached to the wall no longer in place. It explained the crash as a quick glance proved Jamie in fact had come through there, the vent grate now flat on the time floor. “Wasn't as hard as I thought it was all I had to do was follow the sound of your huge hulking feet and-"

“You need to leave"

“what?”

“Leave now, back to the chamber" 

“w-what? No no no I can't get back in there! You and your science buddies locked it all up! Impossible can't go back now" 

“You can't stay here" 

That was it, he couldn't. Someone would notice surely, everything he touched crumbled, their wasn't enough room and there was no way in hell Mako was babysitting some phantom creature that refused to keep its mouth shut for more than a minute at a time. He had to go, broken chamber or not it still had four walls therefore it was ten times safer than out in the open, for everyone.

“You are going back, right now” Mako reached to grab, ready to drag this kid back to the chamber with his bare hands if he had too. He almost did, the memories of the seating pain he had felt the last time he touched him flooding back. It and Jamie lurching forwards onto his knees causing Mako to Jump back with a fright. 

“Please Please please don't take me back there! She is so angry she won't stop screaming and now that I can't find her she is even more upset! B-but but I found you and I can't hear her with you around! Just please don't take me back! PLEASE!” 

Mako wasn't sure if it was the fact this thing was begging on its knees, or the fact he actually had somewhat of a point. With the short time Jamie had been in his quarters, Mako hadn't heard a peep from the voices. It was all too quiet with him around, minus the rambling he brought with him. 

It was the first time since the accident his head didn't hurt. No voices, no pain. Maybe he could keep him here, at least until the chamber was fixed. 

“Fine you can stay".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof this is long overdue but I finally got it done. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, it means so much that people seem to enjoy my senseless ideas.
> 
> Big thanks to my beta for helping out in some areas!


	10. Reflection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mako Bonds with his new Roomate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short but sweet chapter! Something I was meant to post by christmas but instead had to delay slightly. No matter I decided to post for the fiv anniversary instead!
> 
> Thank you to everyone tjat has read so far and onwards! It makes me so happy tp see people just giving this fic a quick glance!
> 
> Thank you!

When someone decides to take on a roomate it is usually a well thought out, pre planned decision. It isn't sudden, it is mostly mutually beneficial and most if not every time the roomate isnt some ghostly entity your own head put together in order to put a face to a voice it barely understood.

But for Mako that was it. 

It seemed impossible now, getting rid of this thing. Ignoring it didn't work, medication didn't work, hell he even tried talking but that only made things worse. Now it was in his private quarters sitting in a slowly growing patch of its own decay, staring at the bookshelf mumbling the title of each boom over and over again. It would struggle in some areas, pausing on long or difficult words and sometimes passing over something completely after a few failed attempts, coming back to it later after successfully reading a different title or two. 

Mako watched, fear and hatred of the einity mixing with an odd curiosity as it did its own thing. He had tried to move onto the task of remaking his bed but had only gotten as far as removing the soot stained cover from the duvet. Surprisingly despite the threat of decay it had previously faced the cover seemed pretty well in tact with only the stain and a few stray threads fraying the edge. Mako would still toss it out, the outright fact that his new roommate had sat on it just minutes ago enough to dissuade him from ever using that cover again.

As Mako balled up and bagged the ruined sheet, tossing the bag to the side as he reached under his bed for a fresh one his attention would once again turn to his guest who for the first time since Mako agreed to let him stay, spoke. 

3“You got any good books? Younow stories and shit not this sciencey stuff you got on show here?” it still stared at the bookcase, resuming its activity of mumbling titles but never reaching out to look or touch.

Mako looked himself, noticing that yes indeed all of the books on display had something to do with his work here at the facility, most if not all of it some branch of psychology. He did have other books tucked away in a box under his bed. All from before he had gotten the fate changing job offer and part of the very limited luggage he had been permitted to bring with him. It had been a long time since he had opened that box years in fact. He had never really had the time to indulge in his cheesy romance novels or jis cheapy written horror anthologies. If it kept Jamie away then perhaps now was a good time to open it up again.

After placing the fresh cover onto the bed Mako reached under again retrieving the box with a gentle pull as to not damage it or the content hidden inside. Jamie bounced over immediately eager to see what Mako had to offer. His pale face almost seeming to lighten up with a toothy grin as Mako popped the latch opening the box.

Inside as expected were a dozen or so paperback novels, a healthy mixture of horror, romance and even a fantasy adventure looking one. Jamie seemed interested enough, Mako would leave him too it, as long as he didn't break anything of course. 

“Read whichever ones you want, just don’t break them” Mako said as he hauled himself from the floor, returning to the task of changing the bed sheets over. He'd leave Jamie to it getting on with his own activities and doing everything he could to ignore the situation at hand. All Mako really wanted, and had done so since the start, was to have a good night's sleep, something he wasn't going to get easily even with a fresh duvet cover.

The situation could not go on ignored forever. Mako couldn't keep the entity in his room, he couldn't keep up the charade of ‘everything is okay’ forever. Mako had to find a way to fix this, to put an end to whatever it was that was now making every aspect of his life a complete misery.

Jamie still had yet to move. He Looked at the books yes but just like the ones on the shelves he hadn't made the move to handle any of them. The interest was there as once again he mumbled the titles to himself, giggling at the fact many were sappy romances written for those who longed for the kind of attention the books presented, but he made no move to pick them, flip through pages or just shuffle the ones on the top so he could get a better look at the few hidden underneath.

By now Mako had finished the bed and sat himself down on it to rest. He had just over an hour before his shift started and as great as the idea of sleep was he wasn't exactly in a situation where sleeping would be easily let alone comfortable. Instead he'd just sit back, hands resting on round of his stomach as he listened to the quiet of the facility, thankful his personal Quarters had been soundproofed many years ago. All he could really hear was the ramblings of his new roommate and after a while he was fall silent as well. 

The sudden silence jolting Mako from his dozy state, Frantically he'd scan the room, Jamie no longer in his spot on the floor with the box of books. The Patch of decay he left behind quickly fading as the ground gradually repaired. For a moment Mako was unsure if he should have been glad the entity was gone or terrified for where he might be and the harm he might cause. A quick search of the room would lead Mako to find that the ghost had mot faded into nothing like he had hoped but had in fact just wandered into the washroom. 

Quieter than it had ever been it stood, single arm wrapped tightly around its chest, gripping pale flesh as white eyes stared blankly at the mirror that hung above the small white sink in front of it. From the angle Mako was stood it was difficult to see the mirror let alone the reflection he could only assume Jamie was staring at. It was interesting to say the least and if it wasn't for the fact Mako was mesmerized by the sight before him himself he would have grabbed the nearest notebook within reach just to record what it was he was experiencing. 

He'd wait, hoping to see some sort of change. For Jamie to go back to his usual chatty self, turning his attention away in favor of something more interesting. But he didn't, he just stood, quiet, unmoving and completely unaware of Mako who was now making his way to join Jamie.

He didn't know what he was expecting to see after all he worked in a secret, underground facility dedicated to collecting and studying anything that fit into the categories of ‘unusual’ and ‘impossible’. He was expecting something, anything but all he saw standing in the glass of the old mirror was his own reflection. Jamie was nowhere to be seen.

“You see it too right? Just standing there, staring” 

Mako didn't say a word, how could he? He couldn't explain it let alone understand it. For all he knew Jamie could see something, whether it was himself, some other ghostly monster from beyond or something not even the facility could explain, whatever it was only Jamie could even have a hope if making sense of it.

Eventually Jamie would break away from the Mirror, lifting his head slightly to face Mako who now stood behind him. 

“Sorry about that by the way mate, can't control it you see. She decides what I can and can't touch”

Before Mako could formulate a response Jamie made his way back into the bedroom, sitting himself down with the books once again to look but not touch. Leaving Mako behind on his own with only his reflection for company. A large hand travelled up to touch the dark scar that painted his face, travelling from the top of his face all the way down to the tip of his left arm. The same black of the decay that followed Jamie wherever he went only this would never fade. 

Jamie was sorry.

It wouldn't be long before Mako returned to the bed, notebook and pen in hand. He'd record what had happened in front of the mirror, what Jamie had said, what Mako himself saw. How Jamie didn't leave a reflection yet claimed to have seen something staring back at him. With less than an hour before his shift Mako gave up on the thought of even getting a quick piece of shut eye and instead continued to busy himself with observation and notes. If Jamie was to stay they might as well Make it worth their while, perhaps this new living arrangement would help put an end to the misery they faced for good.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> If the file is ever completed I may link it here at some point.


End file.
